Farmers’ killings: Group begs Buhari to restructure security, query Garba Shehu

A peace advocacy group, Coalition of Civil Society for Peace and Good Governance in Africa, (COSPAGA), has taken a swipe at the Senior Special Assistant to President Muahmmadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, over comments credited to him to the effect that service chiefs would remain in office as long as the president is satisfied with them, describing the latter’s statement as not only reckless but also “irresponsible and unprofessional of a journalist”.

In a statement made available to Blueprint in Abuja Wednesday, which was signed by its National Coordinator, Dr Christopher Yakubu, National Secretary, Barr. Ibrahim Funtua and Director of Programme, Barr. (Mrs) Lola Babalola, respectively, the group said it received with shock the statement by the presidential spokesman on killing of rice farmers in Borno.

Claiming that Mr Garba Shehu was always portraying the president and his administration in bad light with his unprofessional handling of things associated with his office, the group insisted that it was time for the president to show him the way out, adding that “the service chiefs are not employees of the president but Nigerians whose taxes are being used to pay them”.

The statement reads: “We received with rude and outright shock the irresponsible statement credited to Mallam Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, on Arise TV on Monday, where he stated that the service chiefs will remain in office as long as Buhari is satisfied  with them.

“Nothing can be more irresponsible, reckless, insensitive, unprofessional as such a statement. We wonder if Garba Shehu ever went to any image managing school in his life. For us, we think Garba Shehu is a liability to Buhari’s government and is largely responsible for putting this government in a bad light.

“We appeal to Mr President to sack and replace him with a more competent and experienced Nigerian.  Ordinarily, he ought to know that the Nigerian people are the employers of the president and the service chiefs with him inclusive, hence it’s not in the place of the president to be satisfied with the performance of the service chiefs but the Nigerian people, who have since taken a sound and loud position that the service chiefs must be sacked immediately, going by current developments in the country.

“The president and the service chiefs are paid and funded from Nigerian task payers’ money and must respect the wishes of Nigeria. As it stands in Nigeria today, the call is loud and clear that the service chiefs be sacked and we urge the president to, as matter national emergency, respect the wishes of Nigerian people by sacking the service chiefs.”

They stated further: “While we appreciate the fact that sacking the service chiefs may not automatically end the war against insurgence and insecurity in Nigeria, we strongly believe that appointment of new service chiefs that reflects federal character will usher in hope to the nation and will set in template total turnaround for our national security.

“The new officers will be coming in with new zeal, and ideas that may change the game. Nigeria will work closely through information sharing with them. This is why Nigerians are saying among so many other recommendations to end insurgence and insecurity, that the president must start first with the sack of service chiefs to restore confidence in the people.

“No strategy to end the insurgency can yield any results with the current crop of service chiefs. Statistically, the military kinetic approach can only do 37% out of the 100 in ending insurgence and insecurity. The remaining 63% can be achieved by state and non state actors using non-kinetic approaches. This is why building public confidence is very key in ending the war against terror. Consequently, we wish to add our voice to the call on sack of the service chiefs without further delay.”

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